This invention relates generally to embodiments of a passenger seat food tray.
Existing food trays for airplanes are stowed in a recess of a seatback of an airplane. When stowed, a top surface of the tray faces inwardly toward the seatback. Thus, the top surface of the tray is inaccessible to airline personnel who clean airplanes. To clean a tray, airline personnel must unhinge the tray, lower the tray, clean the tray, and re-stow the tray. This cycle of unhinging, lowering, cleaning, and re-stowing each tray decreases efficiency of an airplane cleaning operation. These inefficient cleaning operations cost airlines time and money when turning an airplane around for receiving a next set of passengers.
Thus, there is an unmet need in the art for a food tray that can be rapidly wiped down and cleaned while the tray is stowed, thereby avoiding unnecessary steps and lost time spent unhinging and lowering the food tray for cleaning and re-stowing the food tray after it has been cleaned.
According to an aspect of the invention, a table is stowable and deployable from a seatback of a passenger seat. The table includes a substantially planar food tray with a first surface and a second surface substantially parallel to the first surface. The tray is stowed in the seatback in a substantially vertical position with the first surface facing outward towards a seated passenger, thereby permitting easy access cleaning of the first surface while in the stowed position. The vertically stowed tray is held in position with a moveable switch engaged against the first surface. A positioning means is mounted on the second surface which operates in stowing and deploying the tray. A pair of legs is attached to the positioning means, each leg having a first attached to the positioning means, and a second end attached to the seat. Upon turning the moveable switch clear of the first surface, the positioning means slidably urges the first surface from its stowed, substantially vertical position, to a deployed, substantially horizontal position, with the first surface facing upwards.
According to another aspect of the invention, a table is fitted with a means for rapidly detaching the tray for maintenance or replacement. A table is stowable and deployable from a seatback of a passenger seat. The table includes a substantially planar food tray with a first surface and a second surface substantially parallel to the first surface. The tray is stowed in the seatback in a substantially vertical position with the first surface facing outward towards a seated passenger, thereby permitting easy access for cleaning the first surface while in the stowed position. The vertically stowed tray is held in position with a moveable switch engaged against the first surface. A positioning means which operates in stowing and deploying the tray is mounted on the second surface. A pair of legs to the positioning means is attached a pair of legs, each leg having a first end attached to the positioning means, and a second end attached to the seat. Upon turning the moveable switch clear of the first surface, the positioning means slidably urges the first surface from its stowed, substantially vertical position, to a deployed, substantially horizontal position, with the first surface facing upwards. The means to rapidly detach the tray for maintenance or replacement includes a quick release mechanism that detaches the tray from and reattaches the tray to the pair of legs.
According to another aspect of the invention a table is substantially unaffected by seatback tilting caused by a forward seated passenger. A table is stowable and deployable from the seatback of the passenger seat. The table includes a substantially planar food tray with a first surface and a second surface substantially parallel to the first surface. The tray is stowed in the seatback in a substantially vertical position with the first surface facing outward towards a seated passenger, thereby permitting easy access for cleaning the first surface while in the stowed position. The vertically stowed tray is held in position with a moveable switch engaged against the first surface. To the second surface is mounted a positioning means which operates in stowing and deploying the tray. A positioning means which operates in stowing and deploying the tray is mounted on the second surface. A pair of legs, each leg having a first end attached to the positioning means, and a second end attached to a stationary region of the seat, is attached to the positioning means. Upon turning the moveable switch clear of the first surface, the positioning means slidably urges the first surface from its stowed, substantially vertical position to a deployed, substantially horizontal position, with the first surface facing upwards. The deployed, substantially horizontal position is substantially unaffected by tilting caused by the forward seated passenger. A means for rapidly detaching the tray for maintenance or replacement is provided, and includes a quick release mechanism. The quick release mechanism detaches the tray from and reattaches the tray to the pair of legs.